Of Hounds and Horses

OF Hounds AND Horses The Fox River Valley Hound Heritage Foundation Continues a Legacy of Land Preservation and Country Pursuits On October 1, 2017 at Barrington Hills Farm, members of the Fox River Valley Hunt gather to ride to hounds following the annual Blessing of the Hounds. In front, Highland Bagpiper Trey Higgins plays for the procession. MFH Tony Leahy leads with the Massbach Hounds and a field of mounted riders ready to follow. Following victory in the Revolutionary War, in 1783, General Lafayette sent General Washington 26 couples of large French Staghounds which were used by Washington for foxhunting. The General’s favorite mount, according to Custis, was a blue roan horse called “Buckskin” while “Billy” Lee the huntsman rode “Chinkling”, a great jumper, and carried a French horn, which was presumed to be a compliment to General Lafayette. Even after the War, the Eastern States, mostly settled by Europeans, kept some aspects of their former lives in their new surroundings. The settlers were from all walks of life, including the aristocracy, and continued their traditions of hunting on horseback with their packs of hounds, their quarry originally being the stag. It was the ordinary farmer who had pursued the fox, which, in the British Isles had no natural predators, and were considered vermin from which no chicken, duck, or goose was safe. For the wealthy, their ships had brought the accoutrements of a com- fortable life to the colonies, including furniture, fabrics, silver, and crystal, George Washington hunts with his mentor, Lord Fairfax. and, as time went by, hounds, horses, and even red foxes. Allen Potts, in his excellent history “Fox Hunting in America” published in 1912, and re- Born 285 years ago, George Washington was a sportsman long printed in 1998, recounts that in New York there was one pack at Hempstead, where Mr. John Evers was Master. This pack was brought over from England before he was a general or president. His physical stature—at around 1770 together with horses and hunt servants. Colonel Washington six feet two inches tall—and displays of athletic prowess and was one of the subscribers, and the British officers and residents of New York were patrons of the sport. fair play were essential to recognition in early Virginia society. THE FIRST ORGANIZED CLUB is reputation for rambunctious horse riding more than made up Prior to the Revolutionary War, in Philadelphia, on December 13, 1766, the for what he lacked in formal schooling. Washington’s noteworthy first organized hunt club in America was founded by citizens of the city and Hperformances hunting in the countryside and later upon the bat- farmers from across the river in New Jersey. The Gloucester Fox Hunting tlefield formalize his contribution to modern ideas about athleticism, chiv- Club had about 125 members, including many prominent citizens of Phila- alry, and leadership. delphia and New Jersey. Present day hunts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Today, the best of the hunting tradition continues with the Fox River Val- trace their origins to the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club. ley Hunt—exercising the hounds, proper horsemanship, vibrant social and Even before formal hunts were organized in America, the gathering of community gatherings, and direct stewardship for the land upon which its’ countrymen with their hounds was motivated not only by the chase, but also members ride—with the key difference being that it is no longer a live hunt, the opportunity for social interaction among folks, who, given the vast dis- but instead a chance to preserve a unique part of American heritage by to- tances of the New World, were further removed from each other. Borrowing day’s standards. a cup of sugar was often a long ride away. These hunts were akin to the barn A reminiscence of George Washington as a huntsman written by the raisings and quilting bees that brought these new Americans together. president’s grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, appeared in the John Thomas Scharf, in a Foreword to the “History of Maryland” recalled “American Turf Register” of September 1829. Custis recalled, 30 years after the conviviality that surrounded the foxhunting of those early days and was the death of his grandfather, that his favorite sporting activity was not fish- in fact, to become a hallmark of organized riding to hounds to the present ing, not shooting, but foxhunting. Between 1759 and 1774, the colonel, as he day. “When night would overtake them, they would be sure of a simple but then was, devoted himself to the pleasures of the chase, sometimes entertain- hearty welcome at the nearest manor house, where, no matter how many ing sportsmen from Virginia and Maryland for weeks on end. guests there might be already, there was always room for more. Stabling was Custis described “The Father of His Country” as always superbly mounted always to be had, and there would be plenty of pone for the tired hounds. In and in a sporting costume—a blue coat, scarlet waistcoat, buckskin breeches, the evening there would be an abundance of old-fashioned punch for the top boots, velvet cap, and a crop with a long lash. Washington kept a kennel men and dancing to the music of Uncle Billy’s ever-ready fiddle. The next of the finest hounds, of English origin, and a stable of excellent horses. The morning the bugle would sound, ‘mount and away,’ and refreshed, invigo- kennels were only a hundred yards from the residence at Mount Vernon, and rated and full of pleasant anticipations, this gay party of happy young fox Washington inspected his hounds and horses daily. hunters would start out again to repeat the performance.” story by BarBara L. Benson • photography LINDA M. BARRETT In 1921, the Barrington Hills Country Club was founded by equestrian pioneers, with H. Stillson Hart, George E. Van Hagen, and J. R. Cardwell as its first three presidents. Pictured here at the Hunt Ball, the social highlight of the season, are (from left) Paul Cook, Harold B. Smith, Paul Jones, S. L. Reinhardt, Robert Engleman, Thomas White, Percey Oliver, Frederick Gohl, Joshua Derry, John Bennett, Andrew Dallstream, Justin Webster, Dr. Ferdinand Seidler, and George Van Hagen. Historical accounts also mention that even in those early years, ladies FROM CHICAGO TO BARRINGTON frequently rode to hounds, and often a dozen or more would ride in flowing H. Stillson Hart, George E. Van Hagen, Spencer Otis, J.R. Cardwell, Henry habits, keeping up over fence and ditch with the best of the men folk. Miller, and Edwin Seipp were among the earliest who built spacious country houses, surrounding them with beautiful gardens, which extended to stables ESTABLISHING A HOUND REGISTRY and farm buildings that served their equestrian and agricultural interests. Key to the success of the chase, and the reputation of any hunt club, is the Often the original farmers went to work for them. Spencer Otis through his quality and pedigree of its hounds. Over two and a half centuries have passed association with the University of Illinois Agricultural School planted ex- since the first hounds were imported from England. In 1907, the Master of perimental crops. Hart leased dairy cattle to the Borden Milk Company. Foxhounds Association was chartered, with its Mission to uphold the honor- These families began to organize their social lives, culminating in 1921, able and traditional practices of hunting by recognized member clubs, and when the Barrington Hills Country Club was founded with Hart, Van Ha- to establish and keep the Hound Registry. The clubs were, and are sustained gen, and Cardwell respectively as the first three presidents. For their chil- by subscription, with subsidies from members. The Master of Foxhounds dren, riding became part of everyday life. The distances between their prop- heads the hunt staff and is responsible for the quality, training, and health erties made visiting on horseback, using their bridle paths, more fun than of the hounds. He may be assisted by one or two huntsmen, and other staff according to the size of the pack. That a club, following such long respected traditions, should be estab- lished in the mid-20th century, and survive into the 21st century in the Bar- From George Washington to Washington, D.C. rington countryside and Fox River Valley of Northern Illinois, can be at- tributed in part to one man. Sanford Peck was the Barrington realtor, who in The tradition of foxhunting traveled from England to America with 1905, opened an office in Chicago’s Railway Exchange Building to market the the Founding Fathers of this country. Some of the stated roles used sale of farms in the wide-open countryside west of the Village of Barrington, today within our legislative bodies, that are believed to have origi- and stretching unbroken to Dundee and Algonquin. nated from foxhunting terms, include Speaker of the House; and His clients were the now wealthy and successful entrepreneurs of the rail- Majority Whip and Minority Whip for both the House and Senate. roads, and Sanford Peck was to show them the open fields of crop cultivation Like the lead hound of a pack whose cry—referred to as when and dairy farming, punctuated by oak savannas, creeks, lakes, and marsh- he “speaks”—proclaims that he has found a scent and thus sets land stretching west and northwest to the Fox River. Many of the second- direction for the entire pack, the House Speaker’s official role is to generation farmers were willing to sell, and Peck had his contracts ready, oversee and lead organizational activity amongst representatives famously collecting his clients at Barrington’s station, and driving them at in the Chamber or the House.

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